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Image: Fox Searchlight
Black Swan, the new film starring Natalie Portman, is a fascinating character study of a tortured young ballerina struggling to figure out where she fits -- in the world and on the stage. The film is also a reminder of how when it comes to sex, society still puts women in one of only two categories: the Madonna or the whore.
But before I get to the sex, a little about the rest of the movie. It had several huge advantages before I even walked in the door. First, I’m a big ballet fan and have been since I was a kid. I’ve seen all the major ballets several times, including “Swan Lake” -- and in fact, I saw Black Swan just a short jete from Lincoln Center where I attended most of those performances.
Second, I’m a big Natalie Portman fan. Ever since she flashed those big, dark eyes at Hollywood at the age of 13 in The Professional, she’s been a favorite of mine. Not to mention she’s a New Yorker and one of the smarter members of young Hollywood.
Ever hear of her getting drunk and flashing photogs outside a nightclub? Um, no.
Black Swan is a psychological thriller about Nina Sayers (Portman), a New York ballerina who’s just been cast as the lead in a new production of “Swan Lake.” The role is a demanding one which requires Nina to play two characters: the delicate and innocent White Swan and the sinful and seductive Black Swan.
Nina is a natural as the White Swan, but when it comes to the Black Swan, she has difficulty bringing forth the passion and attack that part of the role requires. Then there’s Lily (Mila Kunis), a fellow ballerina that Nina fears is out to take the part away from her. Lily is outgoing and provocative, and a perfect Black Swan -- something that ballet master, Thomas Leroy, played by a yummy Vincent Cassel, never fails to remind Nina.
Director Darren Aronofsky Rocks It
You don’t have to like ballet to like this movie, but if you like ballet, the rehearsal and performance scenes are an added treat. Director Darren Aronofsky does a great job of showing the exquisite beauty on the stage and the physical brutality off the stage.
He also makes the effective choice of keeping the camera intimately close to Portman with lots of close-ups of those pained, dark eyes. For example, when Nina walks down the wintry streets in her pink coat and tightly wound scarf, the camera is relentlessly on her face, just waiting for the slightest crack in the façade.
In fact, I’d have to see it again to be sure, but I don’t think there’s one scene without Portman in it. It’s claustrophobic and intense, and you never quite know if Nina is cracking up or if there is some other menace in play. Not until the end, that is.
Nina lives with her mother, Erica (Barbara Hershey), an overbearing former ballerina, and her room is decorated as if for a 12-year-old: awash in pink, and cluttered with fluffy, stuffed animals. And of course there’s a ballerina music box that plays Tchaikovsky’s iconic “Swan Lake” theme.
The Sexual Dilemma
Which brings me to the sex I promised. Nina’s struggle to shatter her carefully created, sexless, woman-child world reminded me of the kind of struggle many women experience.
Our enjoyment of taking charge of our lives and our own sexuality is still seen as “not nice.” We can only be the White Swan or the Black Swan, but never a little of both. The movie explores that theme because as fearful as Nina is of Lily, she’s fascinated and attracted by her.
An attraction which culminates in a steamy girl-on-girl sex scene.
Now it would take a whole other post to discuss the impossible standards and body image issues that inevitably and legitimately come up when discussing the ballet world, but when it comes to Nina, those extremes for me were less about the ballet world than about the world at large.
When it comes to the dancing, the excellent camera work brings a fresh perspective and excitement whether you're familiar with the choreography or not. Though Portman probably didn’t do any of the en pointe work, the editing is so seamless that the audience can’t tell.
Natalie’s curtain call will be provided by Oscar, because she’s a toe shoe-in for
